Hey Tret girls (and boys),
I started tret months before summer. Big brain move, I thought. “I’ll be done peeling by the time it gets hot.”
Then June hit in LA.
UV Index 10 at 11am. 90°F.
I’d put SPF 50 on, drive 20 minutes, and my face was on fire.
Not sunburn. Sun exposure.
Tret makes your skin photosensitive as hell. So UV + sweat + raw skin = stinging, redness, and peeling in places you actually wore sunscreen.
Tret + LA summer sun is its own circle of hell:
1. You’re photosensitive 24/7.
Tret turns up your skin’s UV sensitivity. That “quick coffee run” at noon? That’s enough to make one's skin feeling tighter, redder and more irritated by the afternoon. My barrier was screaming by 3pm. Tret flakes turned to actual cracks
2. SPF melts off in traffic, and you’re still getting UV.
Sitting on the 405. Sun blasting through your windshield. UVA goes right through glass. You’re sweating. Your SPF is sliding into your eyes and pilling around your nose. Reapplying in your car mirror? Congrats, now you’ve got gaps in coverage and SPF chunks in your eyebrows. UV wins.
3. “Incidental sun” destroys you.
AQI 110 in August = you stay inside. But UV still bounces off sidewalks, through windows, and you're still exposed during everyday activities. Tret skin reacts to all of it. My derm said “just wear sunscreen.” My derm doesn’t work next to a window at 2pm.
4. Beach days are UV suicide.
SPF 50, reapplied every hour. Still burnt. Because tret-thinned skin + sand + sweat = your SPF can’t stick. Plus UV reflection off water and sand increases your exposure. Salt water on that skin? Feels like pouring lemon juice on a sunburn.
5. You can’t hide from the sun in LA.
You need to live. You need to drive. You need to leave your house. But every minute in UV makes adjusting to tret feel impossible. Aquaphor at night doesn’t fix UV damage from the day.
I didn’t need more SPF. I needed UV-proof barrier support.
I needed 3 things that worked when you’re getting blasted with UV Index 10:
Anti-inflammatory: for the redness/sting when UV hits tret-raw skin
Occlusive but breathable: seals moisture so UV doesn’t dehydrate and crack you faster
SPF-friendly: doesn’t pill, doesn’t sting eyes, stays put so you don’t get UV gaps when you sweat
That’s how Formula 32 started.
It’s not sunscreen. It’s barrier armor for UV-sensitive retinoid skin.
What’s in it that helps for UV-exposed tret skin:
Zinc Oxide: Helps soothe irritated skin and supports the skin barrier. It's also the active UV-filtering ingredient used in mineral sunscreens.
Colloidal Oatmeal: FDA-recognized skin protectant that helps soothe dry, itchy, and irritated skin while supporting the skin barrier.
Shea + Kokum Butter: Rich emollients that help reinforce the skin barrier and reduce moisture loss without clogging you up or sliding off in the UV heat.
Aloe + Glycerin: Help attract and retain moisture to support hydration and improve skin comfort.
Silver Stearate: Antimicrobial ingredient included as part of the formula for irritation-prone, retinoid-treated skin.
I made it because UV was ruining my tret progress. Now it’s for yours.
Don’t quit tret because of the sun. Fix your barrier.